McDonald’s new $5 Meal Deal debuts Tuesday. For the next month, customers can get a McChicken or a McBurger, four chicken nuggets, a side of fries and a small drink for less than the price of a single Big Mac. The highly publicized, limited-time promotion seems to mark a change in the battle over inflation — and it’s a sign that, finally, people — and the government — are successfully fighting back against rising prices. Yes, the inflation rate in the U.S. is slowing. In May, prices were up 3.
“When you listen in on earnings calls, you hear CEOs, CMOs, CTOs, chief executives talking about the fact that during this period of high inflation they’ve been curious and interested to see just how far they can take their pricing,” says Lindsay Owens, executive director of the Groundwork Collaborative. This is no exaggeration. Last fall, McDonald’s attributed an unexpectedly large bump in sales to “strong average check growth driven by strategic menu price increases.